Purdue is a well coached, dangerous, athletic, quick... but VERY young team. While this Purdue team isn't the biggest, they make up for it in effort and hard-nosed defense. That defense can hurt the Boilers from time to time, as they average the most fouls of anyone in the Big Ten. Purdue isn't an offensive juggernaut by any means (as if Iowa is), but they would prefer to play more up and down than Iowa is used to... then again Iowa has the slowest tempo (per kenpom.com) of any team in the Big Ten. The two teams, although have different styles, are close to each other statistic-wise. They shoot about the same %, get about the same amount of boards, like to swat the ball, and turn the ball over a comparable amount. The big difference in the two teams is the fact that Purdue would prefer to run a lot more than would Iowa.

Interesting Tidbit: Iowa fans might remember E'twaun Moore, a freshman guard from Chicago that Alford recruited hard, but ultimately lost to Painter. He is getting a good amount of PT for Purdue and playing very well.Matt Painter has never beaten Todd Lickliter (albeit there's only one game of record) and Iowa has won 6 out of the last 8 games against the Boilermakers.

There are three "like" opponents for these two teams:MSU: Iowa won at home, Purdue lost on the roadOhio State: Iowa lost on the road, Purdue won at homeIowa State: Iowa lost on the road, Purdue lost at a neutral site

Keys to the Game for Iowa1.) Control the tempo of the game. Don't get into a footrace with Purdue. We saw what happened against Ohio State when the tempo gets out of hand.2.) Tony Freeman needs to play smart. What Freeman did against Michigan State was exactly what we need every time out. Shoot the open jumper, drive against the defender when he closes on you, and don't force anything.3.) Solid contribution from the bigs. Rebounds and getting a body on someone will go a long way against this Purdue team.4.) Play solid, fundamental defense. I can pretty much leave this point on every single game preview because it's the main reason Iowa will have chances to win this year.

If Iowa's D plays to its potential, as it did against MSU, I like the Hawks chances against this dangerous Purdue team.